Twenty Peruvian drivers recruited to repopulate a village in Spain

Baños de Molgas hires 20 Peruvian drivers at €2,300 net

Twenty Peruvian drivers are set to settle in Baños de Molgas, a municipality in Ourense with around 1,500 residents, to fill bus driver positions that have remained vacant for some time. The stated goal goes beyond just driving: according to information published by La Región that sparked the issue, the idea is for them to start working in January and eventually purchase property in the municipality. The figure that has ignited the debate is another: 2,300 net euros. With that number on the table, the conversation splits into two within a single paragraph.

The village that went from 7,000 inhabitants to a handful of residents

Baños de Molgas shows 1,489 inhabitants in the 2022 census. However, this figure hides a second layer: the number of permanent residents throughout the year stays around 600, according to data from those who trinc the municipality's daily life. In the 1970s, the *concello* (local council) approached 7,000. This decline is not a rare case in the interior of Galicia, but it does explain why the arrival of twenty young families is seen as a significant event.

The blueprint of the operation is typical of origin-based recruitment programs: companies commit to facilitating training and settlement, and in exchange, they hope to establish a population where there is none. Some argue that without this step, the municipality would struggle to survive. On the other hand, some point out that the arriving families will have access to healthcare, education, and potential aid—a cost borne by all taxpayers. That is the argument, and also the point of contention.

Can Peruvian truck licenses be validated in Spain?

No. Peru does not have an agreement with Spain for the exchange of truck licenses, so drivers arriving with their home country's license will still have to pass driving tests here. Added to this is the CAP (Certificate of Professional Competence), which is required for transporting passengers and goods. Between these requirements, the actual start of the job will take a few months: license, training, and certification, all passed on the first attempt in the best-case scenario.

That timeline has practical consequences. During that period, the workers do not produce enough to cover their maintenance costs, and some suggest that this cost is not borne by the company alone. Furthermore, the cost of the process—driving school, fees, exams—is not covered by the unemployment benefit system: a Spaniard wanting to become a truck driver today must pay for the license, often with a loan, and become self-employed if they provide the vehicle. The comparison between the two paths is, at the very least, curious.

The €3,090 for international transport that no one considers

Alongside the salary in Baños de Molgas, another less frequently mentioned figure circulates: in international transport, there is talk of 3,090 euros for positions that also remain unfilled. And twenty-five years ago, according to another testimony, a long-haul driver earned around 4,000 euros with three consecutive shifts. In other words, the sector's nominal salary has not risen in real terms for some time, and that is the variable almost no one disputes.

From this comes the most repeated argument: if the problem is supply, the solution is price. Raising wages until candidates appear costs money and reduces margins, and as long as employers maintain that the problem is availability rather than salary, the debate will remain stuck.

Is there a shortage of truckers or a lack of will to pay them?

This is the crux of the matter. Some claim the sector has lacked generational renewal for years because a minority of Spaniards under forty do not want to enter this world: broken shifts, weeks away from home, and harsh conditions. Others respond that unemployed Spanish truckers are plentiful and the problem is the cost of training. Both can be true at the same time, and that is exactly the point neither version wants to admit.

A projection has even been released suggesting that 37% of the Spanish working-age population is either unemployed or on precarious contracts. This figure does not come from any cited statistic and should be taken with a grain of salt, but it accurately measures the temperature of the issue: the perception that there are plenty of candidates but a lack of opportunities. What no one disputes is what happens next. Anyone who obtains their license and papers can change companies whenever they want, and that is exactly the mechanism that drives wages up over time. The question is whether, by then, the price of having an entire village depending on a driver who might move to Madrid will have already been paid.

Why does only 4% of freight travel by train in Spain?

The explanation given is that trucking is cheaper and more flexible, and that the freight rail network does not reach the cargo locations. The data is striking: in Spain, only 4% of freight traffic goes by train, compared to a European average of 17%. Some also point out that taxpayers pay for road wear and tear, and that Europe has committed funds to change this proportion.

The counterargument is common sense: as activity and population concentrate in four main hubs, moving freight trains through empty regions does not make sense. It is the same old cycle. The village needs transport to survive; transport needs cargo to be profitable; cargo needs people. Baños de Molgas is trying to break that circle via the fast track: by bringing in the driver instead of waiting for one to appear.

At this stage of the story, the discussion is no longer about buses.